Cool air supplying apparatus used in refrigerator and refrigerator having the same

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a cool air supplying apparatus for a refrigerator including a turbo fan configured to a grill forming a freezing space to blow cool air into the freezing space; and a shroud configured between a casing and the grill so as to cover the turbo fan and includes an opening part which sucks cool air, an orifice formed at an end of the opening part, an inclined part formed so as to incline toward the grill from one end of the orifice, and a flat part formed so as to be integrated with the inclined part and configured at a constant interval from the grill. Therefore, it is possible to increase the height of the blades of the turbo fan without increasing the total size of the refrigerator and causing resistance to the inflow of cool air.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a cool air supplying apparatus used in a refrigerator and a refrigerator having the same, and more particularly, to a cool air supplying apparatus for a refrigerator in which an inclined part is formed in the vicinity of an orifice of a shroud forming a flow path for the inflow of cool air so as to make the orifice protrude, and a refrigerator having the same.

2. Description of the Background Art

A refrigerator is an appliance for keeping fresh food that is stored in its room by performing a refrigerating cycle.

First, the construction and operation of the refrigerator, more particularly, of parts for discharging cool air will be described hereafter with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

Here, FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a refrigerator according to a conventional art, when doors are opened. FIG. 2 is a view illustrating that an evaporator is configured at the rear side of a rear side wall of a freezing chamber in the refrigerator according to the conventional art. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a turbo fan that blows cool air of the evaporator into the chamber.

Generally, a refrigerator is divided into a freezing chamber 1 and a refrigerating chamber 2, the front side of these is opened and closed by a door 3 which is rotatably coupled with a refrigerator casing 10 that forms the exterior side.

The freezing chamber 1 stores meat and fish that should be stored for a long time, the refrigerating chamber 2 stores vegetables, fruits, beverages and dishes that should be kept fresh and stored for a short time, and the freezing chamber 1 has a lower temperature than the refrigerating chamber 2.

To keep the temperature of the freezing chamber 1 (or the refrigerating chamber 2) low, cool air should be generated by a compressor 6 performing a refrigerating cycle and an evaporator 7 and then introduced into the freezing chamber 1.

To be more specific, a blower fan or a turbo fan 9 is configured at the rear side of a freezing chamber grill 4 forming a freezing space to blow the cool air that is supplied by the evaporator 7 into the freezing chamber 1.

The turbo fan 9 is configured at the grill 4, and a shroud 8 is configured at the upper side of the turbo fan 9.

The shroud 8 covers the turbo fan 9 so as to guide the cool air that has passed through the turbo fan 9 toward a cool air discharging port 5 of the grill 4. Accordingly, the cool air is discharged into the freezing chamber 1, and the temperature of the freezing chamber 1 can be kept at a set temperature.

The turbo fan 9 is composed of a body 9 a having a ring-shaped edge and a hub 9 a′ protruding so as to concentrate at the center, blades 9 b that are configured at the edge of the body 9 a at predetermined intervals to guide the cool air that is introduced toward the hub 9 a′ in the radial direction, and a fan shroud 9 c that is formed in a ring shape and connected to the blades 9 b at the opposite side to the hub 9 a′.

Performance of the turbo fan 9 involves in keeping the temperature of the chamber at the set temperature and causing noise of the refrigerator.

Here, the larger the height of the blades 9 b of the turbo fan 9, that is, the distance between the body 9 a and the fan shroud 9 c, the better the soundproof effect and cooling efficiency of the turbo fan 9.

However, if the height of the shroud 8 is increased to make large the height of the blades 9 b, in other words, if the shroud 8 gets closer to the casing 10, the flow path for the cool air that is formed by the grill 4 and the shroud 8 becomes narrow, thus increasing loss in the flow of the cool air toward the hub 9 a′. Enlarging the casing 10 to prevent the loss causes a problem in that the total size of the refrigerator increases.

Therefore, there has been a continuous demand for improving the structure of the shroud 8 such that the height of the blades 9 b of the turbo fan 9 is increased without affecting the flow of the cool air along the path from the evaporator 7 toward the hub 9 a′ of the turbo fan 9 and increasing the total size of the casing 10.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been finalized in view of the drawbacks of the conventional art; therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a cool air supplying apparatus for a refrigerator capable of increasing the height of blades of a turbo fan without causing a noticeable resistance to the inflow of the cool air and a refrigerator having the same.

To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, there is provided a cool air supplying apparatus for a refrigerator which includes: a turbo fan that is disposed to a grill forming a freezing space so as to blow cool air into the freezing space; and a shroud that is disposed between a casing forming the exterior side of a refrigerator and the grill so as to cover the turbo fan and includes an opening part which sucks cool air, an orifice that is formed at an end of the opening part, an inclined part that is formed so as to incline toward the grill from one end of the orifice, and a flat part that is formed so as to be integrated with the inclined part and disposed at a constant interval from the grill.

As such, the cool air supplying apparatus may have high efficiency and small noise by forming an inclined part.

In the meantime, the interval between one end of the inclined part in connection with the flat part and the grill is equal to the interval between the flat part and the grill.

As such, it is possible to increase the height of the blades while ensuring a sufficient flow path for cool air that is formed by the casing and the shroud. Further, a turbo fan is configured to the grill, and includes a body in which a hub protrudes at the center, a plurality of blades formed at the edge of the body, and a fan shroud mounted to the blades so as to fix the blades.

In this case, preferably, the fan shroud is located at one side of the inclined part. That is, preferably, the fan shroud is formed to bend such that one end of the fan shroud is located at one side of the orifice, and the other end is located at one side of the inclined part.

The opening part and the orifice protrude further than the flat part.

In this case, preferably, the height of the inclined part is set in the range of 20 to 30% of an interval between the flat part and the grill.

Further, preferably, the width of the inclined part is set in the range of 50 to 150% of an interval between the flat part and the grill.

Furthermore, preferably, an interval between the flat part and the casing is set in the range of 90 to 110% of an interval between the flat part and the grill.

In this case, the width of the inclined part is a length that is obtained when the inclined part is projected on the grill.

In order to achieve the object, there is provided a refrigerator which includes: a casing forming the exterior side of the refrigerator; a grill that is disposed at a distance from the casing to form a freezing space; a turbo fan that is configured to the grill, and includes a body in which a hub protrudes at the center, a plurality of blades formed at the edge of the body, and a fan shroud mounted to the blades so as to fix the blades; a shroud that is disposed between the casing and the grill so as to cover the turbo fan and includes an opening part which sucks cool air, an orifice that is formed at an end of the opening part, an inclined part that is formed so as to incline toward the grill from one end of the orifice, and a flat part that is formed so as to be integrated with the inclined part and disposed at a constant interval from the grill, in which the interval between one end of the inclined part in connection with the flat part and the grill is equal to the interval between the flat part and the grill; and an evaporator that is disposed below of the turbo fan to generate cool air.

The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a refrigerator according to a conventional art, when doors are opened;

FIG. 2 is a view illustrating that an evaporator is disposed at the rear side of a rear side wall of a freezer compartment in the refrigerator according to the conventional art;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a turbo fan that blows cool air of the evaporator into the room;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a cool air supplying apparatus for a refrigerator according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a graph illustrating the result from experiments about power consumption when a turbo fan using a shroud of the cool air supplying apparatus of FIG. 4 is operated; and

FIG. 6 is a graph illustrating the result from experiments about noise when the turbo fan using the shroud of the cool air supplying apparatus of FIG. 4 is operated.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

Hereinafter, a cool air supplying apparatus for a refrigerator according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention and a refrigerator having the same will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the embodiment, the same components as those of FIGS. 1 to 3 will be denoted by different reference numerals, but description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the cool air supplying apparatus for a refrigerator according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in the drawing, a shroud 300 is disposed between a casing 100 forming the exterior side of a refrigerator and a grill 110 forming a freezing space so as to cover a turbo fan 200 which blows cool air.

That is, the turbo fan 200 is configured to the grill 110, the shroud 300 is configured at the upper side of the turbo fan 200 so as to cover the turbo fan 200, and the casing 100 is located at a distance from the shroud 300.

Here, the space between the shroud 300 and the casing 100 forms a flow path for the cool air that has passed through an evaporator (7 of FIG. 2).

The shroud 300 has, at the center, an opening part 310 which sucks cool air, and the cool air that is generated by the evaporator (7 of FIG. 2) is introduced into the turbo fan 200.

Further, an orifice 310′ is formed at a circular end that defines the opening part 310 to protrude to the outside of the turbo fan 200 so as to have a semicircular shape in section. In the meantime, an inclined part 330 is formed so as to incline toward the grill 110 from one end of the orifice 310′, and a flat part 320 is formed so as to be integrated with the inclined part 330 and configured at a constant interval from the grill 110.

Here, the opening part 310 of the shroud 300 is formed to protrude further outward, toward the casing 100, as compared to the flat part 320. To make this structure, an inclined part 330 is formed between the center part 310 and the flat part 320 to protrude inclinedly to the outside of the turbo fan 200 thus to connect the center part and the flat part.

In this case, an interval between one end of the inclined part 330 in connection with the flat part 320 and the grill 110 is equal to an interval between the flat part 320 and the grill 110.

In addition, the turbo fan 200 is configured to the grill 110, and includes a body 210 in which a hub 220 protrudes at the center, a plurality of blades 230 formed at the edge of the body 210, and a fan shroud 240 mounted to the blades 230 so as to fix the blades 230.

Since the shroud 300 has the inclined part 330, it is possible to increase the height of the blades 230 to improve efficiency of the turbo fan 200.

Although the height of the blades 230 can be increased by simply increasing an interval A between the shroud 300 and the grill 110, it is not preferable since it narrows a path for the inflow F of the cool air into the turbo fan 200.

In other words, the shroud 300 having the inclined part 330 according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention is designed taking into consideration improving efficiency of the turbo fan 200 and reducing resistance of cool air to the flow path.

For this, the fan shroud 240 is formed so as to be located at one side of the inclined part 330.

That is, the fan shroud 240 is formed to bend such that one end of the fan shroud 240 is located at one side of the orifice 310′, and the other end is located at one side of the inclined part 330.

With this structure, the fan shroud 240 that is mounted at one end of the blades 230 to limit the height of the blades 230 may be formed at the lower side of the inclined part 330 or at one side of the inclined part.

Accordingly, even when the height of the blades 230 is increased in order to improve efficiency of the turbo fan 200, the inclined part 330 prevents the flow path, formed by the casing 100 and the flat part 320 of the shroud 300, from decreasing, thus preventing flow loss of the cool air.

On the other hand, the same effects can be obtained even when the inclined part 330 is not linearly formed and the opening part 310 and the orifice 310′ protrude further than the flat part 320.

More particularly, design factors of the inclined part 330 are as follows.

First, the height C of the inclined part 330 that is the interval between the flat part 320 and the opening part 310 is preferably 20 to 30% of the interval A between the grill 110 and the flat part 320. The above range is based on the following.

In order to minimize resistance of cool air against the path, the interval A and the interval (B, the interval between the flat part 320 and the casing 100) have substantially the same value. In other words, A/B is in the range of 0.9 to 1.1. To be more specific, when either the interval A or interval B relatively decreases while the sum of the interval A and the interval B is constant, the loss of the flow is caused at a smaller side. In this respect, the A/B is obtained in the above range taking the loss into consideration.

However, if the interval B is in a range 20 to 30% smaller than that of the interval A, the loss is insignificant. However, if the interval A becomes larger than the interval B beyond the above range, the loss significantly increases. This is because resistance of the cool air against the path exponentially increases as the area of the path decreases.

When it comes to the relationship with the height C of the inclined part 330, if the height C of the inclined part 330 increases 30% or more as compared to the interval A between the grill 110 and the flat part 320, the opening part 310 of the shroud 300 gets too much close to the casing 100, which decreases the area of the flow path thus causing flow loss as well as noise.

Therefore, it is preferable that the height C of the inclined part 330 is set to 20 to 30% of the interval A between the flat part and the grill.

Next, when it comes to designing a width D of the inclined part 330 that is the distance between the opening part 310 of the inclined part 330 and the flat part 320, the distance can be obtained when the opening part 310 of the inclined part 330 and the flat part 320 are projected on the grill 110, it is preferable that the width D is defined in the percentage range of 50 to 150% with respect to the interval A.

If the width D has the percentage of 50% or less with respect to the interval A, the inclined part 330 of the shroud 300 is inclined by 40 degrees or more. If so, rather than being guided by the inclined part 330 of the shroud 300, the cool air flowing into the turbo fan 200 through the flow path between the shroud 300 and the casing 100 hits heavily the inclined part 330 of the shroud 300, thus causing a great flow loss.

In addition, if the width D has the percentage of 150% or more with respect to the interval A, the inclined part 330 occupies more space of the shroud 300, which causes an obstacle to designing the shroud 300.

In other words, since the freezing chamber has more influence in defining the width of the shroud 300 than in defining the height of shroud 300, if the width D exceeds the above value, the inclined part 330 that is inclined in the height direction of the shroud 300 is shortened.

Accordingly, the inclined part 330 becomes to have an asymmetric shape in the circumferential direction, thus causing difficulties in manufacturing.

When using the shroud 300 having the above-described structure, it is possible to increase exclusively the height of the blades 230 while sustaining the total size. Therefore, performance of the turbo fan 200 is improved without increasing the total size and affecting the inflow of refrigerant.

In the meantime, the present invention provides a refrigerator which includes: the casing 100 forming the exterior side of the refrigerator; the grill 110 that is configured at a distance from the casing 100 and forms a freezing space; the turbo fan 200 that is configured to the grill 110, and includes the body 210 in which the hub 220 protrudes at the center, the plurality of blades 230 formed at the edge of the body 210, and the fan shroud 240 mounted to the blades 230 so as to fix the blades 230; the shroud 300 that is configured between the casing 100 and the grill 110 so as to cover the turbo fan 200 and includes the opening part 310 which sucks cool air, the orifice 310′ that is formed at an end of the opening part 310, the inclined part 330 that is formed so as to incline toward the grill 110 from one end of the orifice 310′, and the flat part 320 that is formed so as to be integrated with the inclined part 330 and configured at a constant interval from the grill 110, in which the interval between one end of the inclined part 320 in connection with the flat part 320 and the grill 110 is equal to the interval between the flat part 320 and the grill 110; and the evaporator (7 of FIG. 2) that is disposed below of the turbo fan 200 to generate cool air.

When using the shroud 300 with the above-described structure, operation of the turbo fan 200 and power consumption and noise due to the operation will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.

FIG. 5 is a graph illustrating the result from experiments about power consumption when the turbo fan using the shroud of the cool air supplying apparatus of FIG. 4 is operated.

As shown in FIG. 5, as compared to a turbo fan having blades with the height of 25 mm according to the conventional art, when the height of the blades 230 is increased to 30 mm in accordance with the structure of the shroud 300 having the inclined part 330 of the present invention, power consumption is reduced by 1 W or more as a whole when using the shroud 300 of the present invention than in the conventional art.

In addition, as the quantity of flow increases, power consumption according to the present invention is significantly reduced. For example, when the quantity of flow is 1.6 m³/min, power consumption can be reduced by up to 1.7 W.

FIG. 6 is a graph illustrating the result from experiments about noise when the turbo fan using the shroud of the cool air supplying apparatus of FIG. 4 is operated.

With reference to FIG. 6, noise is reduced by 1 dB or more as a whole in the present invention, as compared to the conventional art.

Furthermore, as the quantity of flow increases, noise can be reduced by a greater level. For example, when the quantity of flow is 1.6 m³/min, noise can be reduced by up to 2 dB.

As described above, when using the cool air supplying apparatus for a refrigerator according to the present invention, it is possible to improve blow efficiency by enlarging blades of the turbo fan without increasing the total size of the refrigerator.

Moreover, the height of the blades can be increased by changing the structure of the shroud without increasing the total size, but resistance of the cool air flowing into the turbo fan is not increased due to the increased height, thereby preventing noise or flow energy loss.

As the present invention may be embodied in several forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, it should also be understood that the above-described embodiments are not limited by any of the details of the foregoing description, unless otherwise specified, but rather should be construed broadly within its spirit and scope as defined in the appended claims, and therefore all changes and modifications that fall within the metes and bounds of the claims, or equivalents of such metes and bounds are therefore intended to be embraced by the appended claims. 

1. A cool air supplying apparatus for a refrigerator comprising: a turbo fan that is configured to a grill forming a freezing space so as to blow cool air into the freezing space; and a shroud that is configured between a casing forming the exterior side of a refrigerator and the grill so as to cover the turbo fan and includes an opening part which sucks cool air, an orifice that is formed at an end of the opening part, an inclined part that is formed so as to incline toward the grill from one end of the orifice, and a flat part that is formed so as to be integrated with the inclined part and configured at a constant interval from the grill.
 2. The cool air supplying apparatus for a refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the interval between one end of the inclined part in connection with the flat part and the grill is equal to the interval between the flat part and the grill.
 3. The cool air supplying apparatus for a refrigerator of claim 1, wherein a turbo fan is configured to the grill, and includes a body in which a hub protrudes at the center, a plurality of blades formed at the edge of the body, and a fan shroud mounted to the blades so as to fix the blades.
 4. The cool air supplying apparatus for a refrigerator of claim 3, wherein the fan shroud is located at one side of the inclined part.
 5. The cool air supplying apparatus for a refrigerator of claim 3, wherein the fan shroud is formed to bend such that one end of the fan shroud is located at one side of the orifice, and the other end is located at one side of the inclined part.
 6. The cool air supplying apparatus for a refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the opening part and the orifice protrude further than the flat part.
 7. The cool air supplying apparatus for a refrigerator of claim 1, wherein a height C of the inclined part is set in the range of 20 to 30% of an interval A between the flat part and the grill.
 8. The cool air supplying apparatus for a refrigerator of claim 1, wherein a width D of the inclined part is set in the range of 50 to 150% of an interval A between the flat part and the grill.
 9. The cool air supplying apparatus for a refrigerator of claim 1, wherein an interval B between the flat part and the casing is set in the range of 90 to 110% of an interval A between the flat part and the grill.
 10. The cool air supplying apparatus for a refrigerator of claim 8, wherein the width D of the inclined part is a length that is obtained when the inclined part is projected on the grill.
 11. A refrigerator comprising: a casing forming the exterior side of the refrigerator; a grill that is configured at a distance from the casing to form a freezing space; a turbo fan that is configured to the grill, and includes a body in which a hub protrudes at the center, a plurality of blades formed at the edge of the body, and a fan shroud mounted to the blades so as to fix the blades; a shroud that is configured between the casing and the grill so as to cover the turbo fan and includes an opening part which sucks cool air, an orifice that is formed at an end of the opening part, an inclined part that is formed so as to incline toward the grill from one end of the orifice, and a flat part that is formed so as to be integrated with the inclined part and configured at a constant interval from the grill, in which the interval between one end of the inclined part in connection with the flat part and the grill is equal to the interval between the flat part and the grill; and an evaporator that is configured below of the turbo fan to generate cool air. 